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NBA: Rockets beat Bobcats, win 21 straight

Houston Rockets' Dikembe Mutombo, No. 55, celebrates after beating the Charlotte Bobcats in a basketball game on Friday in Houston, Texas. The Rockets beat the Bobcats, 89-80, for their 21st consecutive win. PHOTO: AP

The Houston Rockets beat the Charlotte Bobcats 89-80 for their 21st consecutive victory and the second-longest winning streak in NBA history on Friday.

The Rockets surpassed the 1970-1971 Milwaukee Bucks to trail only the streak of the 1971-1972 Los Angeles Lakers, who won 33 in a row.

Tracy McGrady scored 30 points and the Rockets grabbed a share of first place in the Western Conference with the current Lakers, whom they meet today.

. They both have 45-20 records.

Jason Richardson topscored with 28 points for the Bobcats, who've lost five in a row to Houston.

Jazz 110, Celtics 92

At Boston, Deron Williams had 32 points and eight assists, Carlos Boozer added 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Utah snapped Boston's 10-game winning streak.

Williams went 17-of-18 from the line, and hit his only 3-point attempt. Boozer had his 44th double-double of the season.

Kevin Garnett had 15 points, four blocks and six assists for the Celtics.

Pistons 84, Spurs 80

At Auburn Hills, Michigan, Richard Hamilton scored 25 and made an important three-point play with 20.6 seconds left, lifting Detroit over short-handed San Antonio.

Tony Parker scored 26 and Tim Duncan had 20 points for the Spurs. Manu Ginobili, San Antonio's leading scorer, had just nine points to fall well short of his 20-point average.

Hornets 108, Lakers 98

At New Orleans, Chris Paul had 27 points and 17 assists to help New Orleans beat Los Angeles in what could prove to be a costly game for both teams.

Paul hobbled to the finish after hurting his left ankle on a failed drive to the hoop with 2:31 to go.

Lakers center Pau Gasol and David West, however, did not make it to the final horn. Gasol sprained his left ankle in the first quarter and didn't return. West had 12 points and 14 rebounds for New Orleans, but hurt his right ankle while playing with a nagging left ankle sprain.

Kobe Bryant had 36 points and nine assists for Los Angeles.

Magic 103, Heat 94

At Miami, Jameer Nelson scored 21 points, Dwight Howard added 18 points and 16 rebounds, and Orlando held off Miami to move closer to clinching an Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points, including five within an 18-second span of the final minute, for the Magic, who swept the four-game series with their Florida state neighbors for the second straight season.

Jason Williams scored 34 points -- the second-highest total of his career -- for Miami, which lost for the 34th time in 37 games.

Mavericks 116, Pacers 97

At Dallas, Dirk Nowitzki scored 21 points and new backup point guard Tyronn Lue had 13 points in 15 minutes, carrying Dallas past Indiana in its latest pounding of an Eastern Conference bottom feeder.

Dallas won its fourth straight, all at home and all against the weakest teams in the weaker conference.

Flip Murray had a season-high 22 points, 20 in the second half, for Indiana.

Hawks 117, Clippers 93

At Atlanta, Joe Johnson scored 21 of his 28 points in the third quarter and Mike Bibby handed out 14 assists to help Atlanta beat Los Angeles.

Josh Smith added 25 points for the Hawks.

Tim Thomas and rookie Al Thornton each scored 18 points for Los Angeles, which has dropped 10 of 12.

Nuggets 137, Raptors 105

At Denver, Allen Iverson scored 28 points despite a fractured finger, Carmelo Anthony added 22 and Denver won its fifth straight at home, blowing out Toronto which has dropped three straight to start a five-game road trip.

The Nuggets are 13-2 against the Eastern Conference at the Pepsi Center this season.

Marcus Camby had 17 points and 10 rebounds for his 24th double-double of the season.

76ers 110, Bulls 106

At Chicago, Andre Iguodala scored 25 points and Rodney Carney had 12 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter as Philadelphia rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Chicago.

Philadelphia trailed 88-70 with 11:08 left, then outscored the Bulls 18-6. Ben Gordon had a chance to tie it with 8.2 seconds left but missed a 3-point try.

Thabo Sefolosha added 20 points in a reserve role for the Bulls.
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